'Four Cow Model' for a greener country
Professor Khandoker Muzammel Huq introduced “Four Cow” model in 2004. This green model acts as a factory producing organic fertilizer and biogas as alternative energy source for cooking and lighting. This Zero Waste Farming System is an answer to many questions and problems of Bangladesh and South Asia. Four Cow model addresses problems like malnutrition, unemployment, lack of access to electricity and environmental degradation. Many households, especially in rural areas, do not have electricity or other energy sources. As soon as the sun sets, children cannot study and people cannot work effectively. This model can solve both problems at a time. It is an integrated food security system that creates economically, socially and environmentally sound small-scale family mini-dairy ventures across rural Bangladesh. People in poor countries do not get sufficient dairy products to meet their nutritional requirements. This provides dairy products such as, milk and meat besides a green energy source for rural households. In addition, this involvement itself provides a source of income. But, more cows also mean more cow waste. Biogas converters will allow people to capture methane gas and use it as energy source. The remaining manure can be used as fertilizer and fish feed. Both humans and the environment can benefit from a win- win situation that is quite simple to achieve. This model has a specific focus on reducing the damage due to climate change, on a micro-level. More than 80 per cent of families use firewood and cow-dung as cooking fuel and each family, without access to modern energy sources, uses three tonnes of biomass each year. Environmental degradation, partly caused by migration to urban centres, is creating tremendous pressure on cities further endangering their local environment. Moreover the growing need for fuel has resulted in the increased use of firewood and thus further reduction of trees. The use of firewood is also a cause of respiratory illnesses on a large scale among women and children because of harmful emission. The 4-cow mini-dairy attempt to address these problems is economically viable and environmentally sound. The model not only creates employment in rural areas but addresses two of the major problems -- meeting needs of nutrition and clean fuel. On a global scale, these projects can be replicated as a possible path to clean, green energy. It benefits society and nation through reduction of environmental damage and by producing self-sustaining social business. The basic model of a commercially viable mini-dairy comprises of four milch cows and a bio-digester to produce bio-gas and organic fertilizer. It is conservatively estimated that Bangladesh has the potential for four million such farms. Local agents identify entrepreneurs and arrange financing and training required to set up a four-cow mini-dairy along with a biogas plant and vermin-compost facilities. The financing required for each mini-dairy is about USD 4000 (approx. BDT327,000). In addition, initiators assist with marketing of milk and fertilizer and also help create new markets for organic fertilizers. The start up requirements for a mini dairy farm are: 0.5-1 acre of land, 4 milch cows (pregnant/lactating at the time of purchase), A 4.5m x 9m shed with cement flooring, corrugated iron tin roofing, brick and bamboo walls for housing eight cows; mostly family run units, so no external labor is required. Occasional day labourer may be needed for 52 man days a year. A Bio-digester with capacity for processing up to 80 kgs of cow-dung per day produces 3.8 cubic meter of bio gas. A vermi-compost pit 1.5m wide and 0.9m deep and of varying lengths, depending on amount of compost, to be prepared. Core element Biogas digester: it is a plant that extracts methane from cow-dung to use as an energy source for cooking or lighting. Cow manure naturally decomposes to produce methane. Methane gas is one of the most potent contributors to global warming. Biogas converters accelerate the production of methane gas and capture it for household energy use. Each farm produces
Single day: -60 to 100 kg of high quality organic fertilizer
-3.8 cubic meter of bio gas for cooking and lighting
-12 liters of milk
-Every 14 months:
-4 calves It is conservatively estimated that Bangladesh has the potential for 4 million such farms yielding (each year)- -4.8 billion cubic meters of bio-gas
-240 million tons of organic fertilizer
-5 million tons of vermi-compost
-17 billion liters of milk
-16 million calves (every 14th months)
-1 million tons of meat
-26 million square meters of hide and 0.3 million tons of bones 12 million people directly employed, mostly women Loans can be provided by commercial banks for better access to finance by rural people. But to take the project to its height institutional support for health and livestock insurance, better cold-chain management, cattle rearing farms, cattle breeding programme, better animal fodder and feed are very important for value-chain and sustainability of the small dairy ventures. Local governmental organisations such as Upazilla Live Stock Office may be involved in the projects to provide the farms necessary services. Working with Grameen Bank when it was conceptualized, Professor Muzammel Huq had a vision to make a platform for small and medium farmers' access to financial instruments, who will never remain the missing-middles. “Missing-middle” means the people who are not poor enough for micro finance and not solvent enough for commercial baking finance. Having this idea he was researching and doing pilot dairy and fishery utilising local resources available. It became clear that mobilising and further development of our rural household units with small land, finance and cows can diminish crisis of energy and electricity for domestic use, provide environment friendly fertilizer, and help resolve problems like malnutrition, unemployment and urban migration. Thus making Bangladesh a complete Green country, say, by year 2035.
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